Wednesday, April 13, 2016

There is Christian Persecution

Without the need for Gulags or Gas Chambers. Pope Francis says so over here. All too often, when Christians object to the clear and obvious assault on the right to not be liberal, advocates of the new tyranny resort to denial if not downright mockery.

Stop whining, we're told. There is no persecution. I've always wondered what their standard for persecution happens to be. This is a movement, after all, that used to declare Fascism! and McCarthyism! when a record store wouldn't carry a Madonna song. So I'm not sure how they reconcile Christians saying they don't want to be forced by the government to take part in a ceremony against their religious convictions as whining.

After all, as far as I know, the various cases that have arisen where a photographer here, or a bakery there, have been legally assaulted have had to do with actual gay marriage ceremonies. It's not that the businesses in question refused to serve gay people. At least two of the owners I've seen interviewed said they don't mind serving anyone. They just don't want to be part of something that specifically cuts against the exercise of their religious conscience.

And yet, against that, all hell has broken lose. And when Christians have objected to being financially punished, to being hit with exorbitant financial penalties because of this, advocates of the Left simply shrug, wink, giggle, and act as if Christians have no reason to complain. Why not? Again, go back to the 70s and 80s and see what liberals said when religious groups tried to get a show pulled from television or a radio station wouldn't play The Rolling Stones. It was nothing less than Big Brother all the way!

That includes Catholics and other Christians, BTW. Not just those who have embraced the gospel of liberalism, but others who want to come off as voices of reason. Perhaps afraid of looking too conservative, or afraid of being laughed at by those who want to do the persecuting, they often step forward and say, "Now let's not be hasty. There's really no persecution. We don't even know what that means. Look at Syria or Iraq." Sure. Those are cases of one extreme form of persecution. Often, it's the final stage of persecution.

But as Pope Francis says, there are other stages, and we're seeing those play out now. I wish he would speak more bluntly as to just who and what is behind this. When it comes to things like the historic sins of the Western Democracies or Capitalism, he has no problem dropping names. I wish he would drop names here. That would leave no wiggle room. It would leave no doubt as to just who he's talking about. It would also keep people from trying to twist it around and say he's really talking about those traditionalists who want to impose their values on others by committing the mortal sin of failing to embrace the true religion of the Left.

By the way, speaking of principalities and powers. The battles we fight are ultimately spiritual battles beyond the visible. But in keeping with the usual Satanic promises, have you noticed the essence of this entire religious liberty battle? The fight is over businesses who don't mind serving anyone, gay or otherwise. They just don't want to be forced to take part in a religious observance that is against their fundamental beliefs. Like making a Kosher deli cater a pig roast for Easter services. They aren't even attacking gays. They simply say, in this particular case, they would prefer not to be part of the event. And yet it's nothing less than Nazi flavored hatred and bigotry.

And how do those who want to impose their values on these business owners fight back? Why, with nuclear retribution. They come in and punish entire states. They do things that could hurt everyone in the state, allies and opponents alike. They pull out and hurt the entire flock of people: gay, straight, religious, non-religious, LGBTQ supporters, gay marriage opponents, friend, foe. They essentially carpet bomb the opposition, hurting anyone and everyone in the process.

An observation of warning. We've come to believe that a Christian business owner, willing to serve anyone, but asking not to be forced to take part in a morally pronounced religious ceremony fundamentally opposed to their own beliefs, is the essence of hate and intolerance. And those institutions and organizations and individuals who wield tremendous power and have billions at their disposal, who are willing to do nothing less than extortion in order to mandate conformity, and do so by harming anyone in their target range - friend and foe alike - are the champions of tolerance and inclusion. How we got there has to be a tale of unprecedented dumb. But given our cultural and educational standards over the last few decades, I'm not shocked. Not in the least.

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Dave Griffey

Welcome

This is a little blog of mine, just to kick around what I see going on in the world outside my window. Though primarily a blog looking at the world through Christian colored lenses, I'll touch on anything and everything, from culture and news to reflections on my own pilgrimage through the Christian Faith, to family and fun, history, vacations, movies, pets, cooking, delivery truck driving, you name it.

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